TENNIS

TENNIS; Sampras Takes Healthy Step Over Agassi

By ROBIN FINN,

Published: March 21, 1994

KEY BISCAYNE, Fla., March 20—
Faced with a hairy, healthy gazelle in the form of his mobile challenger, Andre Agassi, the world's No. 1 player, Pete Sampras, proved under sauna-like conditions today that he is nigh unto invincible even when a member of the walking wounded.

After nearly having to default in the final of the Lipton Championship because of a violently upset stomach, Sampras collected himself after dropping the opening set and plugged along until he was assured of the 5-7, 6-3, 6-3 victory that anointed him the first back-to-back champion in the tournament's 10-year history. It was also his ninth consecutive triumph in a final against a fellow American.

"I woke up at 7 feeling nauseated, heaving and gagging; I didn't think I'd be able to go out and play," said Sampras, who was unable to eat anything and "had I.V.'s in me all the way from 10:45 to 12:20. But I feel a lot better now. As the match wore on, the adrenaline started kicking in and I started to think I could win when the chips are down. That sort of showed me I've got guts." Edge Over Agassi

Sampras, off to his best start with a 23-2 match record, picked up his fourth title of the year and claimed a 5-4 edge in career meetings with Agassi, who was appearing in only his third tour event since the 1993 United States Open. Agassi, back on track after a five-month layoff to rebuild his wrist, called his trip to the final "an incredible stepping stone."

That Sampras and Agassi, despite being stylistic opposites, have had remarkably similar records in previous championship events boded well for the sort of struggle they engaged in today. In career finals, Sampras was 23-7 and Agassi 20-7. Sampras had emerged victorious from 11 of his previous 12 finals before today, and Agassi had won his last seven finals. Against each other in finals, they were 1-1. Against each other when one of them was ailing, they only had to recall their 1993 Wimbledon quarterfinal where Agassi, then the defending champion, took Sampras, the eventual winner, to five sets despite playing with a wristful of injections and bandages because of tendinitis. Deja Vu

This time it was Sampras, suddenly floored by a stomach virus reminiscent of the one that hobbled him for the semifinal and final of the 1990 United States Open, whose ability to compete was in doubt until match time. The start of the match was pushed back an hour, until 2 P.M., after Agassi, who has apparently added mercy to his list of character traits in this year's rebirth, agreed to give Sampras extra time to rehydrate himself.

"I would have done the same thing for him if he'd been in the same boat," said Sampras, who called Agassi's cooperation "a class move" by a worthy rival.

Agassi explained he and his new adviser, Brad Gilbert, made a joint decision to give Sampras the extra recovery time he had requested.

"It's not about winning the tournament, it's about taking pride in what you do," Agassi said. "If couldn't beat Pete healthy, I didn't deserve to win the tournament, and whether sick or well, he played a great match."

Sampras said he felt more feeble than faint for most of the match, but he also said he was determined, once he survived the first four or five games, to give Agassi a good test. Opening Set Loss

At times he looked woozy, and at times he seemed uncertain of his bearings, but Sampras, who served 14 aces and 7 double faults, never let Agassi achieve any sense of well-being. He broke the Las Vegan twice for a 5-2 lead in the opening set and earned a set point with a 123 mile-an-hour ace only to watch his lead melt away when Agassi broke him twice as he served for the set.

Sampras then dropped his serve again when he tried to force the tie breaker. Instead, Agassi converted that set with a pair of backhand volleys, but it was the last time he was able to thwart Sampras's serve.

Sampras broke Agassi to begin the second set, held game points in every game of the set, and finished it off on the fourth set point by lambasting Agassi with a passing shot that popped off the Las Vegan's racquet and blooped out of bounds. The final set belonged totally to Sampras and his inimitable serve, which sped him to a 4-1 lead and was, appropriately, the last shot of the match.

"Once he got in front, he started serving big, and that was it," Agassi said. "Part of me was saying there was no way he could stay out there for three sets; I was wrong."

Photo: Pete Sampras returning a volley to Andre Agassi during their match in the Lipton Championship final. (Agence France-Presse)